Thank you Jerry for your careful and accurate commentary on the 'two messages' being put forward by the media and the state in the US. Similar messages are being put forward by media and state here in Australia. This morning I opened my 'Weekend Australian' (Sept 22-23) a Murdoch paper that draws its main line from the 'New York Times'. On page 10 is the newspaper's own reconstruction of the 'big story' - nine panels (one for each day) showing the lead photograph beneath a bold headline, followed up with a summary. In the 10th panel the reader finds an overview as follows: "One big story has dominated the world since Tuesday September 11. From the moment the first hijacked suicide passenger plane ploughed into the World Trade Centre in New York, 'The Australian's' front pages have been dominated by what we first dubbed the 'war of terror'". The Australian's 'big story' is revealing in two ways: (1) it explicitly (and shamelessly) sets out its own agenda for what the news story is going to be about, and (2) it implicitly focuses on the 'two messages' identified by Jerry (the demonisation of 'enemies' and the diplomatic push to draw support from around the world for a 'just' cause). It is interesting in its own right as a piece of news-in-the-making which draws on a powerful association of imagery and language to construct a coherent message. I reproduce it here exactly as it appears. In my view it is a very good example of how 'news' is made and consent 'manufactured' (Chomsky): Panel 1: Headline - WAR OF TERROR Photograph - burning towers of TWC Summary - The Horror is Revealed. Four planes hijacked and turned in to lethal weapons. The World Trade Centre's 110-story towers reduced to rubble. A section of the Pentagon destroyed...and thousands killed [the break ... is in the original, for emphasis I assume]. Panel 2: Headline - THEY'LL PAY FOR THIS Photograph - Rubble of WTC Summary - US declares war. President George W. Bush says the US is at war with the perpetrators of the worst act of terrorism, while a mammoth rescue effort begins. Three Australians are confirmed dead. Panel 3: Headline - DEATH AND SURVIVAL Photograph - Rescue workers and a survivor in agony [a full page vertical] Summary - A handful of miracles. Rescuers find five people alive, including a firefighter who was in one of the towers when it collapsed. Australia commits military support for any US retaliation. Panel 4: Headline - TERROR NET CLOSES Photograph - New Yorkers running up the street as the towers collapse Summary - Police close in on suspects. About a dozen suspects are snared in an international dragnet to close down the bombers' support network. Congress approves $US40bn for the military fightback and repairs Panel 5: Headline - HAND OVER BIN LADEN Photograph - Coffin of victim draped in flag. Summary - Ultimatum Delivered. Bush demands Afghanistan hand over bin Laden or face devastating retaliation. Afghani refugees being (sic) to flood into Pakistan, fearing an imminent air strike. Panel 6: Headline - FEAR HITS WALL STREET Photograph - Firefighters ringing the opening bell Summary - Wall Street Plunges. The US market opens for the first time since the previous Monday, with shares plummeting despite an interest rate cut announced before the start of trade. Panel 7: Headline - TALIBAN VOWS JIHAD Photograph - Osama bin Laden (with 3 inserts of Islamic anti-US demonstrations) Summary - Holy War Vow. Taliban leader Mohammad Omar tells his people to prepare for a holy war. The US signals it is prepared to kill bin Laden, with Bush harking back to old posters out west that said 'Wanted, dead or alive' Panel 8: Headline - WORLD AIRLINE CRISIS Photograph - various (including a repeat of the twin towers in flame) Summary - Airlines hit hard. The world's aviation industry goes into crisis, with tens of thousands of jobs slashed. Omar says bin Laden will not be extradited without clear evidence against him, the clearest signal the Taliban is ready to face a US attack. Panel 9: Headline - "INFINITE JUSTICE" Photograph - US aircraft carrier Summary - US mobilises for war. Under the code name 'Operation Infinite Justice', US firepower converges on the Middle East. A council of religious Afghan scholars defies the US demand to extradite bin Laden. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Nicola Mostyn (Taylor) Faculty of Economics Murdoch University South Street Murdoch W.A. 6150 Australia Tel. 61 8 9385 1130 email: n.taylor@stu.murdoch.edu.au %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%|
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